Do the Right ThingMeaningful art should be provocative, because it forces self-examination and opens dialogue; what better way to learn about the lives of other people? Do the Right Thing is a racially-charged comedy/drama written and directed by Spike Lee, detailing a day in the life of a block in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York on one its hottest days. As the temperature rises, so do racial tensions among its residents, culminating in an explosive and violent climax. But before this happens and gets written off in the news as just one more story about sour race relations, the movie give insight into the hearts and minds of the people who were involved in that tragic moment.
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Because of its subject matter, it is impossible to discuss Do the Right Thing without at least a passing discussion about race relations in America, be it thirty years ago when this movie was made or today. With that in mind, it is also worth mentioning here and now that even the discussion of race relations has become a hot button issue and sore spot for many. Yet this essay does not intend to antagonize or attack any people--be they black, white, or otherwise. Instead, it is an examination of the film's message juxtaposed with my own outlook on the subject matter. With that out of the way, let's talk about Do the Right Thing.
Spike Lee has indicated that he was inspired to write this movie after a pair of racially-charged killings in New York, but the emphasis of the rising heat triggering racial disharmony--and the film's conclusion--seems to point more deliberately to the "long, hot summer of 1967". Racial tension is ubiquitous in Do the Right Thing, even from the opening credits set to the nearly equally omnipresent song of "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. Spike Lee sets the tone for his film from here with little to no ambiguity about his opinion on race relations, even by way of Rosie Perez's intense interpretive dance at its start, underscoring the current of anger throughout. Appropriately for the setting, Do the Right Thing features an almost entirely black cast, with Lee playing the protagonist, Mookie. (Perez plays Mookie's girlfriend, Tina, in her film debut.) Mookie works at a pizza place owned by Sal (Danny Aiello), and delivers pies by foot across the neighborhood in the heat while enduring criticisms from Sal and racial barbs from one of his two sons, Pino (John Turturro). Sal and his family have set up shop in "Bed-Stuy" because of stiff competition for selling pizza elsewhere in New York City, much to the frustration of the resentful Pino. But aside from a couple of cops, a jerk in a convertible, and a somewhat clumsy cyclist (John Savage), they are essentially the only white people in the neighborhood, and they feel it. In this way, Do the Right Thing calls out to white viewers who will inherently identify with Sal--all the more due to Danny Aiello's natural affability--to reassess how black people feel when they are singled out in a community. But the film doesn't rest easy on this interpretation alone. Despite Pino's pleas to sell the Bed-Stuy shop, Sal claims that he wants to see his customers grow up eating his food; but is this true, or merely a justification? With the exception of Mookie's sister, Jade (Joie Lee), Sal liberally dishes out curmudgeonly guff along with every slice to his black patrons, passive-aggressively reminding them that "extra cheese is two dollars". And in one noteworthy example of questionable customer service values, Sal berates one of his patrons who goes by "Radio Raheem" (Bill Nunn) for playing his boom box too loud in his establishment. And while Sal is right that the music is loud to the point of being distracting, he shows no courtesy to his customer regardless; not once does he even ask or say "please"--instead, he demands. Sal treats his pizzeria as though it were his own personal fiefdom, and seems at his happiest when he doesn't have to deal with customers, which insinuates that he ended up in Bed-Stuy because he really wasn't cut out to keep up with the big boys slinging pizza in his own neighborhood. So when a local man who goes by the nickname of "Buggin' Out" (Giancarlo Esposito) points out to Sal that his wall of pop culture icons is dominated by Italian-Americans and doesn't represent any black people, Sal ultimately kicks him out of his restaurant following their argument. Does Sal have a point that because it is his restaurant that he should be entitled to decorate it as he sees fit? Of course. Does Buggin' Out have a point that because Sal's patrons are almost entirely black that they should be represented in the business they patronize. Of course. Yet neither men are willing to yield any ground in their ideological battle, because both resent that the other isn't recognizing their values on the basis of race. And this kernel of anger swells and swells over the course of the day, turning into something far more terrible.
The title of Do the Right Thing is debated as to its meaning in the story. The phrase is spoken by an elderly man to Mookie with a penchant for Miller Lite referred to as "Da Mayor" (Ossie Davis) by the neighborhood for being a constant fixture in it, despite also being often inebriated. Many point to a crucial moment when the madness of the film's climax is at its height as the moment when it is visibly represented. Following the inevitable explosive fight between Sal and Radio Raheem (instigated by Buggin' Out), the police arrive and put Raheem into a chokehold that kills him, driving off with Raheem's body and Buggin' Out to cover up the killing. The remaining three white men--Sal, Pino, and Sal's other son, Vito (Richard Edson)--are cornered by an outraged black community. Mookie's response is to grab a trash can and hurl it through the window of Sal's Pizzeria, provoking a full-blown riot that decimates his business...while distracting the mob from the men themselves who watch the place burn from the shadows. The finale of Do the Right Thing is full-blown chaos, and yet has disturbing parallels with contemporary news stories about racial violence proffered by the media today. In the wake of the highly public killing of George Floyd and the protests and riots which followed, watching Radio Raheem be choked to death becomes eerily prescient, to the point where it all seems to be like a bad joke or a nightmare made manifest. This compounds the sorrow at the core of Do the Right Thing, where it becomes evident that doing what is right is far too rare of a thing. Does Mookie "do the right thing" at this critical moment? This depends much on how you define "the right thing", of course. Is Mookie "saving" Sal and his sons from being lynched? Is the "right thing" in his mind based on his interpretation of a quote by Malcolm X as a post-script to the film about violence being acceptable when used in "self-defense"? If so, is Mookie taking this to mean that he must "defend" his neighborhood from a business that doesn't uphold his values? Then that would be quite a justification to use to resort to rioting and looting. My interpretation of the title is unrelated to the actions of its characters, who proceed though this day-in-the-life tale by just being themselves, each in accordance with their own established values--many of which are dominated by thoughts of racial prejudice. Instead, the title is a warning to the audience of this cautionary tale. It is a call to those who watch Do the Right Thing to not fall prey to anger and hatred like Sal, Buggin' Out, Pino, Radio Raheem, the cops, the Korean grocers, the Latinos, and even Mookie do which leads to death and destruction. I believe that it is the other quote that closes the film--by Martin Luther King, Jr.--that best exemplifies this, making clear that hatred only begets more hatred, violence more violence, and only when we listen and open our hearts, and love thy brother, do we overcome. That's doing the right thing.
Recommended for: Fans of a powerful movie with a message about racial tension and the insidiousness of bigotry encapsulated in a depiction of a single hot day in New York City. Even though Do the Right Thing approaches its core theme from a decidedly black point of view about race relations, that's a crucial part of the movie's larger message. Each of us has our own story to tell and outlook of the world, and respectful disagreement and discussion is always preferable to ignorance or echo chambers, as silence only feeds hostility and antipathy.
Spike Lee has indicated that he was inspired to write this movie after a pair of racially-charged killings in New York, but the emphasis of the rising heat triggering racial disharmony--and the film's conclusion--seems to point more deliberately to the "long, hot summer of 1967". Racial tension is ubiquitous in Do the Right Thing, even from the opening credits set to the nearly equally omnipresent song of "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. Spike Lee sets the tone for his film from here with little to no ambiguity about his opinion on race relations, even by way of Rosie Perez's intense interpretive dance at its start, underscoring the current of anger throughout. Appropriately for the setting, Do the Right Thing features an almost entirely black cast, with Lee playing the protagonist, Mookie. (Perez plays Mookie's girlfriend, Tina, in her film debut.) Mookie works at a pizza place owned by Sal (Danny Aiello), and delivers pies by foot across the neighborhood in the heat while enduring criticisms from Sal and racial barbs from one of his two sons, Pino (John Turturro). Sal and his family have set up shop in "Bed-Stuy" because of stiff competition for selling pizza elsewhere in New York City, much to the frustration of the resentful Pino. But aside from a couple of cops, a jerk in a convertible, and a somewhat clumsy cyclist (John Savage), they are essentially the only white people in the neighborhood, and they feel it. In this way, Do the Right Thing calls out to white viewers who will inherently identify with Sal--all the more due to Danny Aiello's natural affability--to reassess how black people feel when they are singled out in a community. But the film doesn't rest easy on this interpretation alone. Despite Pino's pleas to sell the Bed-Stuy shop, Sal claims that he wants to see his customers grow up eating his food; but is this true, or merely a justification? With the exception of Mookie's sister, Jade (Joie Lee), Sal liberally dishes out curmudgeonly guff along with every slice to his black patrons, passive-aggressively reminding them that "extra cheese is two dollars". And in one noteworthy example of questionable customer service values, Sal berates one of his patrons who goes by "Radio Raheem" (Bill Nunn) for playing his boom box too loud in his establishment. And while Sal is right that the music is loud to the point of being distracting, he shows no courtesy to his customer regardless; not once does he even ask or say "please"--instead, he demands. Sal treats his pizzeria as though it were his own personal fiefdom, and seems at his happiest when he doesn't have to deal with customers, which insinuates that he ended up in Bed-Stuy because he really wasn't cut out to keep up with the big boys slinging pizza in his own neighborhood. So when a local man who goes by the nickname of "Buggin' Out" (Giancarlo Esposito) points out to Sal that his wall of pop culture icons is dominated by Italian-Americans and doesn't represent any black people, Sal ultimately kicks him out of his restaurant following their argument. Does Sal have a point that because it is his restaurant that he should be entitled to decorate it as he sees fit? Of course. Does Buggin' Out have a point that because Sal's patrons are almost entirely black that they should be represented in the business they patronize. Of course. Yet neither men are willing to yield any ground in their ideological battle, because both resent that the other isn't recognizing their values on the basis of race. And this kernel of anger swells and swells over the course of the day, turning into something far more terrible.
The title of Do the Right Thing is debated as to its meaning in the story. The phrase is spoken by an elderly man to Mookie with a penchant for Miller Lite referred to as "Da Mayor" (Ossie Davis) by the neighborhood for being a constant fixture in it, despite also being often inebriated. Many point to a crucial moment when the madness of the film's climax is at its height as the moment when it is visibly represented. Following the inevitable explosive fight between Sal and Radio Raheem (instigated by Buggin' Out), the police arrive and put Raheem into a chokehold that kills him, driving off with Raheem's body and Buggin' Out to cover up the killing. The remaining three white men--Sal, Pino, and Sal's other son, Vito (Richard Edson)--are cornered by an outraged black community. Mookie's response is to grab a trash can and hurl it through the window of Sal's Pizzeria, provoking a full-blown riot that decimates his business...while distracting the mob from the men themselves who watch the place burn from the shadows. The finale of Do the Right Thing is full-blown chaos, and yet has disturbing parallels with contemporary news stories about racial violence proffered by the media today. In the wake of the highly public killing of George Floyd and the protests and riots which followed, watching Radio Raheem be choked to death becomes eerily prescient, to the point where it all seems to be like a bad joke or a nightmare made manifest. This compounds the sorrow at the core of Do the Right Thing, where it becomes evident that doing what is right is far too rare of a thing. Does Mookie "do the right thing" at this critical moment? This depends much on how you define "the right thing", of course. Is Mookie "saving" Sal and his sons from being lynched? Is the "right thing" in his mind based on his interpretation of a quote by Malcolm X as a post-script to the film about violence being acceptable when used in "self-defense"? If so, is Mookie taking this to mean that he must "defend" his neighborhood from a business that doesn't uphold his values? Then that would be quite a justification to use to resort to rioting and looting. My interpretation of the title is unrelated to the actions of its characters, who proceed though this day-in-the-life tale by just being themselves, each in accordance with their own established values--many of which are dominated by thoughts of racial prejudice. Instead, the title is a warning to the audience of this cautionary tale. It is a call to those who watch Do the Right Thing to not fall prey to anger and hatred like Sal, Buggin' Out, Pino, Radio Raheem, the cops, the Korean grocers, the Latinos, and even Mookie do which leads to death and destruction. I believe that it is the other quote that closes the film--by Martin Luther King, Jr.--that best exemplifies this, making clear that hatred only begets more hatred, violence more violence, and only when we listen and open our hearts, and love thy brother, do we overcome. That's doing the right thing.
Recommended for: Fans of a powerful movie with a message about racial tension and the insidiousness of bigotry encapsulated in a depiction of a single hot day in New York City. Even though Do the Right Thing approaches its core theme from a decidedly black point of view about race relations, that's a crucial part of the movie's larger message. Each of us has our own story to tell and outlook of the world, and respectful disagreement and discussion is always preferable to ignorance or echo chambers, as silence only feeds hostility and antipathy.